Lambda-universe in scalar-tensor gravity

We present a lambda-Universe, in scalar-tensor gravity, reviewing Berman and Trevisan’s inflationary case (Berman and Trevisan in Int. J. Theor. Phys., 2009) and then we find a solution for an accelerating power-law scale-factor. The negativity of cosmic pressure implies acceleration of the expansion, even with Λ<0. The cosmological term, and the coupling “constant”, are in fact, time-varying.      

Misconceptions about the Hubble recession law

Almost all astronomers now believe that the Hubble recession law was directly inferred from astronomical observations. It turns out that this common belief is completely false. Those models advocating the idea of an expanding universe are ill-founded on observational grounds. This means that the Hubble recession law is really a working hypothesis. One alternative to the Hubble recession law is the tired-light hypothesis originally proposed by Zwicky (Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. 15:773, 1929). This hypothesis leads to a universe that is an eternal cosmos continually evolving without beginning or end. Such a universe exists in a dynamical state of virial equilibrium. Observational studies of the redshift-magnitude relation for Type Ia supernovae in distant galaxies might provide the best observational test for a tired-light cosmology. The present study shows that the model Hubble diagram for a tired-light cosmology gives good agreement with the supernovae data for redshifts in the range 0<z<2. This observational test of a static cosmology shows that the real universe is not necessarily undergoing expansion nor acceleration. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Wavelet analysis of non-Gaussian anisotropies from primordial voids in simulated maps of the Cosmic Microwave Background

Phase transitions taking place during the inflationary epoch give rise to bubbles of true vacuum embedded in the false vacuum. These bubbles can imprint a distinctive signal on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). We evaluate the feasibility of detecting these signatures with wavelets in CMB maps, such as those that will be made available by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Planck mission.     

High resolution imaging of the Hubble Deep and Flanking Fields

42 hours of A-array VLA data and 18 days MERLIN data at 1.4 GHz have been combined to image a 10 arcminute field centred on the Hubble Deep Field (HDF). This area encloses both the Hubble Deep and Flanking Fields. A complete sample of 87 sources have been detected with flux densities above 40 μJy. All these have been imaged with the MERLIN+VLA combination to produce images with 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 arcsecond resolution. These are the most sensitive 1.4 GHz images yet made with rms noise levels of 3.3 μJy/beam in the 0.2 arcsecond images. About 70% of the microJy sources are found to be starburst type systems associated with major disk galaxies in the redshift range 0.4–1. Some 20% are found to be low-luminosity AGN systems identified with field ellipticals at redshifts close to 1. The remaining 10% are associated with optically faint systems close to or beyond the HDF limit; many of these may be dust-shrouded starbursts at high redshift. We propose to extend this study to include VLBI data of comparable sensitivity to investigate the compact radio structures found in the microJy source population.     

Further results for astrophysics from the cosmology within the framework of the Projective Unified Field Theory

Recently the 5‐dimensional Projective Unified Field Theory (PUFT) of the author (Schmutzer 1995a, Schmutzer 1995b) has been applied to a closed homogeneous isotropic cosmological model with the result of a cosmology without big bang (Schmutzer 1999a, Schmutzer 1999b). Continuing this approach, in this paper following subjects are treated: recalculation of numerical values of cosmological quantities, exact solution of the field equations to a point‐like body, motion of a test body in such a field, definition of the empirical effective gravitational factor (“constant”), Einstein effects compared to the empirical situation, adiabatic approximation of the motion of an orbiting testbody under the influence of the expanding cosmos (transition of the ellipses to circles, decrease of the radius of the orbiting bodies, decrease of the excentricity, increase of the frequency of orbiting objects etc.), heat production in a moving body induced by the cosmological expansion with application to various cosmic objects.     

Cosmology without Big Bang within the framework of the Projective Unified Field Theory and the influence on the motion of cosmic objects

The Projective Unified Field Theory having been developed by the author since 1957 is applied to a closed homogeneous isotropic cosmological model. By postulating a (new) conservation law for the scalaric substrate mass (derived from the balance equation of matter and leading to a basically new view on the concept of mass in context with the Mach principle) we obtained a coupled system of differential equations for the world radius and the scalaric world function, which could be treated numerically by Maple. Detailed calculations show that the big bang singularity of the Einstein theory can be avoided. Since the mass density and the temperature of the background radiation exhibit maxima at the same time after the cosmological “big start”, this fact could be of interest for cosmogonic activities. Within the framework of this theory there are hints for an antigravitational world era with repulsive forces after the big start. Furthermore, the balance equations for the energy and the angular momentum of a body as well as the equation of motion of a body (with a series of consequences) are derived. In this context we found a formula for the time dependence of the “effective Newtonian gravitational constant”. Further results refer to certain aspects for understanding the observed rotational curves of cosmic objects within galaxies as well as to the conservation of the number of photons and baryons and their mutual ratio etc.     

The mass distribution in the innermost regions of spiral galaxies

We use high-spatial resolution (100 pc) rotation curves of 83 spiral galaxies to investigate the mass distribution of their innermost kpc. We show that, in this region, the luminous matter completely accounts for the gravitational potential and no dark component is required. The derived I-band disk mass-to-light ratios agree well with those obtained from population synthesis models and correlate with color in a similar way. We find strict upper limits of 10⁷ M for the masses of compact bodies at the center of spirals, ruling out that these systems host the remnants of the quasar activity.     

Modified Rindler acceleration as a nonlinear electromagnetic effect

The model proposed originally by Mannheim and Kazanas for fitting the shapes of galactic rotation curves has recently been considered by Grumiller to describe gravity of a central object at large distances. Herein we employ the same geometry within the context of nonlinear electrodynamics (NED). Pure electrical NED model is shown to generate the novel Rindler acceleration term in the metric which explains anomalous behaviors of test particles/satellites. Remarkably a pure magnetic model of NED yields flat rotation curves that may account for the missing dark matter. Weak and strong energy conditions are satisfied in such models of NED.     

On the scalar-tensor theory of Lau and Prokhovnik

Recently Lau & Prokhovnik (1986) have formulated a new scalar-tensor theory of gravitation which reconciles Dirac’s large numbers hypothesis with Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The present work points out an error in the time-dependent cosmological term and the scalar potential given by Lau and Prokhovnik. The correct forms for these quantities are derived. Further, a vacuum Robertson-Walker solution to the generalized field equations is obtained, under an anasatz that we propose, which illustrates that the theory is, in some sense, incomplete.     

Surface vacuum energy and stresses on a brane in AdS space with an application to the brane-world model

The vacuum expectations of the surface energy-momentum tensor generated on a brane in AdS space-time by quantum fluctuations of a scalar field with an arbitrary coupling parameter are studied. It is assumed that the field satisfies mixed boundary conditions on the brane. A generalized zeta function method is used as a regularization procedure. Two regions, located to the left (L-region) and right (R-region) of the brane, are considered. It is shown that the surface energies for both these regions contain pole and finite contributions. Analytic expressions are derived for both parts. When calculating the total surface energy including the contributions from the L- and R-regions, the pole terms add out in odd spatial dimensions. The surface energy-momentum tensor induced by vacuum quantum effects corresponds to the generation of a cosmological constant on the brane. These results are applied to the second Randall-Sundrum model.Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 151–164 (February 2005).